LONDON - British children's author Dick King-Smith, whose novel "The Sheep-Pig" inspired the hit movie "Babe," has died at 88.
His publisher, Random House Children's Books, said the writer died in his sleep early Tuesday at his home near Bath, about 100 miles west of London.
King-Smith was honored by Queen Elizabeth II when he received an Order of the British Empire last year for his services to children's literature.
The writer worked for 20 years as a farmer before he trained as a primary school teacher. In his 50s, he began his first story, "The Fox Busters," about chickens taking their revenge on foxes. It was published in 1978.
He published more than 100 books. The 1995 Oscar-winning movie "Babe," based on his story about a pig that behaves like a sheepdog, made his books a global hit.
